Signaling apparatus at crossings



Sept. 16, 1930. T. TERNON ET AL SIGNALING APPARATUS AT CROSSINGS FiledSept. 25, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 T. TERNON ET AL APPARATUS AT Sept. 16,1930.

CROSSINGS SIGNALING Filed Sept. 25, I929 2 Sheets -Shoet 2 PatentedSept. 16, 1930 TRANQUILLE TEBNON AND EUGENE GALLIZ'EN, OF FECAMP, FRANCESIGNALING APPARATUS AT CRUSSINGS Application filed September 25, 1929,Serial No. 395,113, and in France October 5, 1828.

The present invention relates toa device ensuring the automaticsignaling of the arrival of a vehicle at a crossing brancl1linc,dangerous passage and so on so as to avoid collisions, to facilitate theapplication of the legal trafiic-prescriptions and to render at the sametime possible the control of these prescriptions.

If the vehicles travel, for example, at the right side of the road, avehicle arriving at a crossing will signal itself on the cross road 'atits left and is thus guarded against an accident on this side. Thedriver of the vehicle itself will perceive a signal indicatingeventually that free passage must be given to a vehicle coming fromthecross road 011 the right.

The whole of the signaling apparatus comprises:

An oscillating cam having a face which is substantially flush with theroad surface pivotally mounted for oscillating movement by a wheel of apassing vehicle and arranged to actuate a lever acting on the stem of anair pump or any other pump to compress the fluid in a tube passingacross the road and ending at and acting on another pump of less crosssection at the desired place at the crossing, to operate a. signal bylifting it, and hence give warning on the other road of the approach ofa vehicle passing over the aforesaid cam.

The invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings showing summarily and simply in the way of an example one ofthe possible embodiments.

Fig. l is a vertical longitudinal section according to lines 11 of Fig.2, through the whole device comprising the signal to be actuated.

Fig. 2 is the corresponding plan view, without the signal.

Figs. 3 and 4 represent two vertical transverse sections according tolines 3-3 and l-4 respectively of F ig. 2.

Figs. 5 and 6 are two examples of the utilization of the device atcrossings.

The mechanism effecting the lifting of the signal in an automatic wayand at each passage of a vehicle approaching the crossing,

arranged below the ground in a recess periendicular to the road andplaced to the right if the circulation is effected to the right side.

This mechanism comprises an oscillating cam A which is essentially flushwith the level of the road R to be protected, as described later on, andis placed about 30 meters before the crossing.

This cam or plate of a width of 0.600 meter to 1 meter according to theimportance of the road, presents a section comprising two arcs ofchcles, a and a, of different radii, the are a of smaller radius beingflush with the soil of the road and attaching itself to the are a of agreater radius by an inclined path a forming a ridge of a a fewcentin'ieters on the road R. The slope of a must be in the samedirection as the travel of the vehicles. The cam or plate A is situatedat a suitable distance from the gutter so as to cause the vehicle comingin the direction to pass with its right hand wheels thereov r.

It must be remarked that in case of an accident the operated signal orthe lack of this operation would afford evidence whether the vehiclekept to the right side in accordance with the traiiic prescriptions ornot.

The shaft B of the cam or plate is supported by two bearings G andcontrols, at one of its extremities, a lever C (Fig. 3). A counterweightJ with stops. returns the whole of the apparatus to its initial positionat the end of the operation.

Any vehicle passing over the road plate A therefore, by its weight,causes the road plate to turn until its ridge above the ground level isflush therewith and so actuates the lever C in the same direction.

The recess X lined with masonry or concrete is covered with metal platesI readily removable for inspection. The cover plate I for the positionof the road plate A has an opening (Fig. st) which allows of. thepassage, with little play, of the part of the plate which forms theridge above the road level.

The lever C is connected to an air pump D or any other fluid-pump, andits action at the passage of a vehicle over the road plate A compressesthe air or the corresponding fluid in the tube K. This latter passesacross the the general arrangement and to details.

' It is, for example, possible to modify the read.

' plate A there will thus correspond a rota articulated on an axis.ranged at the corner of the road R on the left of the road 'R in therefceiss road (Fig. 5) and joins a second air pump E (Fig. l), the stemof which, under the action of the pressure above it operates a signal FThis signal F is arin relation to the vehicle actuating it, and can thusbe seen by'the driver of the latter and b" any other vehicle orpedestrian coming from this left hand road R since they know that they:must give way according to the rule of the road, they can then takeprecautions in consequence. V j

The pump E and the signal F can be arranged for example at the upperpart of-a pillar Y so as to facilitate the vision and not to impede thecirculation at theside of'the The road plate A at the place of itspassage into the plate covering the recess has -Longitudinal grooves orthe like Z to better carry away gravel and sand which may be'-' comeinterposed between. these parts and render hard the actuation of theplateA- by the vehicle.passingabove.

'Be'neath the road plate A is provided in the concrete acircular recessN extended tion of the helix P causing a thrust of sand and gravel intothe tube 0 and an evacuation thereof into the pit W. V

The invention is'of course not-limited to the embodiment represented andpermits regulated circulation, dangerous passages" V and so on.

numerous modifications both with regard to transmission means inaccordance with the space at disposal, with the requirements of thetraflic, .andthe points of the crossing, to be attended'to. V v

VVhile the foregoing description applies more particularly to thecrossings of roads, it is obvious that the invention is generallyutilizable for all ways tobe controlled, such as branch-roads, roads tobe passed in one sense only, roads and so on having a strictly Theoperating cam or road plate is always situated up the dangerous passageor part; of

the road to be protected, and is apt to actuate' as many signals asrequiredvfor aneflicient signaling on the road; such optical signals maybe placed either on the same road (or on roads different fromthe onepursued by the vehicle passingover the road plate A, so as to giveadvertisement to vehicles approaching crossing. 7

At night time the signals may be eventually luminous; they may also bedoubled, in case of emergency, by son'oro'us signals.

"What We claim isrj 7 4 1'. Signaling apparatus of the class described,comprising a plate for application at the surface ofia road and havingan open- V ing and a cam v,mounted for OSClllEtlQlOn fiIld iextendlngthrough said OPQII11'lg,SZL1Cl cam having rounded ends andhavingan'iintermedia-te plane surface flush with said plate when the cam is indepressed position;

2. In combination withsignalingapp'arae tus for road vehiclesair-crossings and the like,

a: shaft arranged to be mounted in'a recess in a ro'ad," sa1d shafthaving a cam, to be osc llated by the passing vehicle, a'pump con-''nected tosaid cam for actuation th'ereby, -another pump near thesignaland in operative connection therewith, Panda conduit between both pumps,tocause the fiuidfrom'one pump other pump, and hence actuate tooperatethe the signal.

' 3; In comb nationwith slg'nal'i ngappara tus'for road vehicles atcrossings and the like, a'cam arranged tobe oscillatedbya wheel ofpassingvehicle, a pump acted upon by said cam,a pump by the'said signal,arr'angedto be acted upon bythe lluid" of thefi'rst pump, means torestore the whole-to, initialposn tion after cessation of said passage,and means to remove bodies interfering with "the operation of saidapparatus. j In witness whereof they-affix their signatures. a i

i ,TRA'NQUILLE TERNON. EUGENE-Gamma I

